Question for Cub Scout parents

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One more thought about something I think is a fundamental historical difference between Girl Scouts and cub/boy scouts. I think BSA has always subscribed to a more rigid definition of what a man should be--this comes through in the fact that most of the program is mandatory and the program presents certain core skills and beliefs. This also resulted in the historical opposition to gay scouts.

GSA, in contrast, has always been about challenging boundaries and reinventing what it means to be a girl. The program has nothing mandatory about it, and its contours are defined by what the girls, parents and leaders want to achieve. It's also historically been pretty welcoming of gay scouts, and generally socially progressive. (My grandmother was horrified when sex Ed was part of the GS program, in the 1930s--not so much that she opposed it but because she didn't want to do it as a leader!).

I think GSA has struggled, in the past decades, with figuring out where to add value in a world where there now are so many options available to so many girls, whereas BSA seems to have a clearer vision of what it's mission is (to provide boys with a certain set of old world skills and values).

I think this is a really interesting and insightful comment. I was a Girl Scout for 12 years (I'm old - no Daisys when I was a kid!) and am now a leader. GS is clearly trying to give lots of flexibility to its program, which can be fantastic in that it opens up a lot of different experiences, but also can lead to grumbling when a girl can't find a troop or experience that meets her interests.

My son was a cub scout for 4 months, so clearly I don't have any brilliant insight to BSA. During that time, though, I was really surprised by the amount of family involvement in boy scouts. It's definitely a fundamentally different philosophy than girl scouts. Whether it's better or worse is just a decision each family has to make for themselves, but I can see how the expectations for so much family involvement leads to a bunch of sisters feeling left out of what, it turns out, is really a family activity not a boy activity.

[Anonymous]

Here's one example of why I want my daughter to join my son's Scout program in Brighton, MD:

Schedule for upcoming GS campout:

"Activities include:
• Yoga, Beauty Care, Manicures, & More
• Scavenger Hunt Hike
• Fun Crafts
• Campfire S'mores
• and a Halloween Costume Fashion"

Yes, GS have added more outdoors and STEM badges, but the requirements are pathetic to put it nicely. Examples:

Brownie Hiker:

1.Decide where to go
2.Try out a hiking skill
3.Pick the right gear
4.Pack a snack for energy
5.Go on your hike!


Computer Expert:

1.Paint or draw with an art program
2.Find some cool facts
3.Take a trip online
4.Make a connection
5.Have some computer fun

[Anonymous]

Plus, the vast majority of countries worldwide have co-ed scouts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_Organization_of_the_Scout_Movement_members

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's one example of why I want my daughter to join my son's Scout program in Brighton, MD:

Schedule for upcoming GS campout:

"Activities include:
• Yoga, Beauty Care, Manicures, & More
• Scavenger Hunt Hike
• Fun Crafts
• Campfire S'mores
• and a Halloween Costume Fashion"

Yes, GS have added more outdoors and STEM badges, but the requirements are pathetic to put it nicely. Examples:

Brownie Hiker:

1.Decide where to go
2.Try out a hiking skill
3.Pick the right gear
4.Pack a snack for energy
5.Go on your hike!


Computer Expert:

1.Paint or draw with an art program
2.Find some cool facts
3.Take a trip online
4.Make a connection
5.Have some computer fun

Wow, that would definitely take a good leader to make the earning the badge more engaging or challenging

[Anonymous]

No, I don't want my daughter to join cub Scouts. If I did, I would become a GS leader and model our curriculum on what I liked that the Boy Scouts did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One more thought about something I think is a fundamental historical difference between Girl Scouts and cub/boy scouts. I think BSA has always subscribed to a more rigid definition of what a man should be--this comes through in the fact that most of the program is mandatory and the program presents certain core skills and beliefs. This also resulted in the historical opposition to gay scouts.

GSA, in contrast, has always been about challenging boundaries and reinventing what it means to be a girl. The program has nothing mandatory about it, and its contours are defined by what the girls, parents and leaders want to achieve. It's also historically been pretty welcoming of gay scouts, and generally socially progressive. (My grandmother was horrified when sex Ed was part of the GS program, in the 1930s--not so much that she opposed it but because she didn't want to do it as a leader!).

I think GSA has struggled, in the past decades, with figuring out where to add value in a world where there now are so many options available to so many girls, whereas BSA seems to have a clearer vision of what it's mission is (to provide boys with a certain set of old world skills and values).

I think this is a really interesting and insightful comment. I was a Girl Scout for 12 years (I'm old - no Daisys when I was a kid!) and am now a leader. GS is clearly trying to give lots of flexibility to its program, which can be fantastic in that it opens up a lot of different experiences, but also can lead to grumbling when a girl can't find a troop or experience that meets her interests.

My son was a cub scout for 4 months, so clearly I don't have any brilliant insight to BSA. During that time, though, I was really surprised by the amount of family involvement in boy scouts. It's definitely a fundamentally different philosophy than girl scouts. Whether it's better or worse is just a decision each family has to make for themselves, but I can see how the expectations for so much family involvement leads to a bunch of sisters feeling left out of what, it turns out, is really a family activity not a boy activity.

I had thought the family involvement is to avoid molestation incidents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a girl scout and a cub scout. I am much more impressed by the organization of cub scouts. Each den in cub scouts is embedded in a larger pack, so even if the leaders of your particular den aren't strong, you still have the rest of the pack to provide a good experience. With girl scouts, if you have an uninspired leader (like we do) you're really stuck. My son does much more interesting stuff than my daughter.

You're not stuck. Volunteer to help or sign up to be the leader. That's how it works.

I'm an outdoor GS leader. I'm camp certified, have the FA certification, kayaking, ropes, and archery. My issue is not that I won't step up but rather the way GS forms troops is by school not interest. My DDs troop is interested in arts and crafts not camping. DD and I end up volunteering to go with other troops who are lacking a certified adult. Its fine and it gets my DD the outdoor experience she wants but she doesn't have a troop of friends that share her interest. We've tried to join some of these troops but meeting time/location often prevent it especially if they meet right after school. I can't get my kid to the other side of the county 15 min after school ends.

+1. This is exactly our situation.

[Anonymous]

There are a lot of active families in my son's Cub Den. Many moms participate alongside dads (or just them!) for camp outs etc. Is this true of Girl Scouts?